The Defense Department is seeing much of its industrial base reopen after shutdowns due to the coronavirus. However, the Pentagon isn’t celebrating yet.
As a second wave of COVID-19 hits the United States, DoD is reviewing policies to keep the supply chain moving and keeping an eye on the numbers.
Assistant Defense Secretary for Acquisition Kevin Fahey said only 34 of the approximately 1,000 defense-related companies that closed due to coronavirus are still shuttered. Employees are still getting infected though.
“We are seeing a lot of cases of COVID, a lot of cases in our defense industrial base, it’s pretty consistent with what you see in the news,” Fahey said Monday during a Professional Services Council webinar. “It tends to be the younger grouping of people for the most part. When more people get sick it spreads.”
He added that almost every industry partner has had confirmed COVID cases or quarantines.
Fahey said businesses and DoD have continued some operations because they’ve learned to operate under a new normal.
Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2020/07/dod-cautious-of-industrial-base-impact-as-coronavirus-ramps-back-up/
The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech has established a webpage where all contract-related developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) are summarized. Find the page at: https://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/coronavirus-information-for-contracting-officers-and-contractors/
